Help Bangladesh to produce Covid-19 vaccine locally: Malaque to Int’l communities

Health Minister Zahid Maleque has asked the developed countries to help Bangladesh in its efforts to produce Covid-19 vaccines locally.

“Health has been an important issue in this year’s UNGA session as the UN member states couldn’t meet for the last two years due to the Covid-19 pandemic and its aftermaths. Issues related to the health sector of various countries have been widely discussed during the UN session,” Zahid said in an interview on Friday at the Lotte New York Palace Hotel in New York. 

The health minister is in New York now to attend the 77th UN General Assembly (UNGA).

The minister said the government has already bought lands to set up the vaccine plants and therefore, several Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) have been signed with some American companies.  

“Till now, we’ve provided vaccines to our citizens with the jabs purchased from the international market. But we’ve now decided to become a vaccine-sufficient country. So, we’ve already bought some lands for setting up vaccine plants to produce vaccines locally and some MoU have also been signed already in this regard,” said the minister.

Asked about the MoUs, Zahid said that the government has inked deals with some American companies who are experts in vaccine production technologies.

Replying to a question, the health minister said that Bangladesh will receive assistance on a government-to-government (G2G) basis.

Vaccine distribution during the pandemic had been unequal. People from rich countries were vaccinated more than people from poor countries. Besides, if a section of the society remains unvaccinated, those who are vaccinated will again get in contact with Covid-19. As a result, the vaccine issue received special attention during this year’s UN session, added Zahid. 

During the interview, the minister added that all the countries joining the UN session were unequivocal in acknowledging that developing countries must have the capacity for vaccine production.

“Emphasis was given on Covid-19 tests. Many countries couldn’t afford mass testing due to the lacking of much-needed laboratory testing systems. At the UN session, rich countries have pledged to help the underdeveloped and developing countries in building testing facilities,” added Zahid.

Asked about how other countries viewed Bangladesh’s Covid-19 management, the minister said Bangladesh was lauded for effectively dealing with the deadly virus.

“Currently, we have a total of 900 Covid-19 testing centres where people can test for Covid free of cost. We’ve also vaccinated crores of people from every age group. Our mortality rate was low, and we also didn’t face any economic downturn during the pandemic. All these factors have garnered praises from the other countries present during the UN session,” Zahid concluded.